The Last Dance: Michael Jordan’s baseball career, LaBradford Smith among 5 things we learned in Episodes 7-8

5. Jordan might have made it to the majors

Jordan was largely clowned for his short-lived baseball career. It was inevitable — here was a guy who had dominated the NBA suddenly deciding to switch to baseball, and he never made it to the majors. The natural impulse was to bash Jordan for that confounding decision, and people didn’t hesitate at the opportunity to poke fun at the once-NBA king as he suddenly looked mortal.

“It was kind of fashionable to roll your eyes at him playing baseball,” said Terry Francona, who managed the Birmingham Barons at the time. “After I met him, I realized quickly how much he respected what we were doing.”

What’s been lost over the years is that Jordan’s baseball career was far more respectable than it felt like at the time, especially for a 31-year-old who hadn’t played since he was 17 and was now trying to play professionally. He only batted .202 for the White Sox’s double-A affiliate, but he also drove in 51 runs in 127 games and started his career off with a 13-game hit streak.

Pitchers adjusted with breaking balls, knowing Jordan would swing at almost everything, but his work ethic to improve was tireless. Francona believes Jordan would have made it to MLB if he had kept with it, citing his improvement and dedication. In fact, if Jordan had been willing to cross the picket lines in 1995, he could have played as a replacement player. Instead, the strike pushed him back into basketball’s loving arms, and the rest was history.